The Houston Bar Association Law & Media Committee co-chairs, including University of Houston Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes, will be honored with the HBA President’s Award for outstanding committee leadership at the annual dinner on May 11.
May 08, 2023 — University of Houston Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes, alumna Ann Ryan Robertson and alumna Anne Chandler will be recognized for their achievements in the legal profession at the 2023 Houston Bar Association Annual Dinner on May 11.
Leonard M. Baynes and all the HBA Law & Media Committee co-chairs will be honored with the HBA President’s Award for outstanding committee leadership.
The committee spearheaded the HBA President's Speaker Series, which focused on "Elevated Civil Discourse.” Program topics included the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision and voting laws in Texas. The series will conclude with a final program on big tech and free speech scheduled on May 20.
“I am incredibly proud of the exceptional programming this committee produced this year,” said HBA President Christopher V. Popov in an announcement from the HBA. “The HBA President’s Speaker Series was an opportunity for the HBA to continue nurturing its close ties with Houston’s three law schools while informing our members about leading legal issues of the day. Our six co-chairs were critical in producing this series, and I am thrilled to award them this recognition.”
Additional award recipients include two UH Law Center alumnae honorees, Ann Ryan Robertson (J.D. '77, LL.M. '05) and Anne Chandler (J.D. ’98).
Robertson, an international partner at Locke Lord LLP, has been named the 2023 recipient of the Justice Ruby Kless Sondock Award. The award recognizes a woman lawyer or judge for a record of exceptional achievement and leadership in the law.
The award is named in honor of UH Law Center alumna Sondock who graduated from the Law Center in 1962 and was a trailblazer in the legal profession as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Texas and the first woman to serve as a district judge in Harris County.
Chandler, former Houston Volunteer Lawyers Executive Director, has been named one of the 2023 recipients of the HBA President’s Award. HVL, a service of the HBA, provides pro bono legal services to low-income residents of Harris County.
“Anne has been such a phenomenal force in driving HVL’s mission to connect those in need of legal assistance with volunteer lawyers,” said Popov. “Under her stead, HVL has significantly increased and improved its services to thousands of Houstonians.”
